That’s right. Post office getting expensive and even higher cost to mail in Jan 2011 so now-a-days along with printing cost, it does make sense to not mail forms out by default. But…
The IRS says you will still be able to get forms at your local Post Office and Library or you can call them at 800-829-3676 (I sure hope there is someone at the other end of the line to answer).
Not to fear, you can get forms and instructions online at the IRS website www.irs.gov
Now if you have had any dealings with the massive stuff that comes at you when you do a search at the IRS website, you know it should be a bit simpler than that to get some of the most common forms so we suggest other online and free site that has the most common forms and instructions quick at hand to end some of the search nonsense.
Last year I was able to get all the forms and instructions I needed in less than 2 minutes !
In any case, it is going to be a strange tax year with much of the confusion getting tax forms and instructions so help your parents/friends who may not get online but need the forms like anyone else. One thing for sure, it is a mark of things to come as the net shows it can deliver at a low cost but the FCC needs to deliver the internet to the people, not the ISP’s as the public trust it started out as.
Tired of all the “BS, Mud-slinging and issues brought to the for-front that do not matter to you”?
Yea.. it happens all the time when real issues that effect every-one’s life need to be discussed. They talk about Gay’s in the military, religion, abortion, gun control or burning the flag, anything but the real issues so maybe you will forget they exist and insight a voter base that will turn out a vote for them. Then while they are busy keeping you occupied with one of the above, they de-regulate they banks etc just like they did when Americans attention was on the Monica Lewinsky’s dealings with President Clinton in 1999 and got a weakened President to sign the bill that the media did not seem to have time to cover or make an issue that we all know now was a big one!
There is a solution this election however it would require more candidates and voters nation-wide to participate.
It is so simple it almost stinks. I always quickly correct folks that say that I have been bi-partisan to the idea that I am non-partisan ( I do not discriminate, I hate both party’s ). Being Independent has it’s advantages that allow me to persuade a Liberal or Conservative, Republican or Democrat.
My real battle is with those who have lost touch with common folks and common sense and favor the money of those who would attempt to influence our everyday lives regardless of good/bad but for sheer money alone. The Neo-Capitalist. Those are the same folks that currently want to turn the high unemployment into low wages for the large company’s and get a tax break doing it. You know they honestly think they know better than anyone that they are the only folks that make anything happen and with the way they have been able to stifle innovation in this country by buying out or merging with any competitor, they may be right.
So here is your solution…
DO NOT ALLOW EITHER PARTY HAVE A MAJORITY IN CONGRESS !
Just think about the implications of a no-majority or a majority of independents. If anyone wants to do one iota of anything, they have to work together. Gee… There’s a thought !
Congress just does not seem to be capable of thinking past the next election. We need some long term thinking out of this body of our government that really has no idea of the long term implications of the legislation they pass.
Professional Politicians is not what this country needs (lifetime politicians are like welfare frauds) nor is it CEO’s of large company’s ( running the country is not like running a company despite the contrast drawn ).
We need some “Mr. Smith Goes To Washington” and a whole bunch of them in a hurry !
There has been a big disrespect paid to those that have been unemployed by no fault of their own but by the deregulating Congress, greedy wall street types, and the right wing talk media has been spinning that these folks just do not want to work or even look for a job. With a unemployment rate of 10% I would say if there are so many jobs for these folks then why are there 50 to 100 or more applicants for every job listed.
Congress has been giving the illusion of helping out time and time again but they really have not done what most think by reading what little the media has been publishing on a full explanation of benefits allocated and benefits paid for.
Here is where the actual weeks of emergency unemployment compensation that the federal government has allocated.
First the normal state allocation of 26 weeks.
Then a fderal funding of 53 weeks of emergency unemployment that was originally set-up in 2 tiers, then the same number of weeks was changed to 3 tiers and later to 4 tiers but the number of eligibility weeks has not changed from the 53.
So the only thing Congress has been debating if whether to change the dates that would cut off recipiants who have lost their jobs since the banking crash of 2008 and to fund the program they set-up some time ago. So they did and extended the dates to make more sense than previously rendered. This is the current:
Must exhaust Regular UC benefits by 05/22/2010 in order to be eligible for Tier 1 (20 weeks).
Must exhaust EUC Tier 1 benefits by 05/29/2010 in order to be eligible for Tier 2 (14 weeks).
Must exhaust EUC Tier 2 benefits by 05/29/2010 in order to be eligible for Tier 3 (13 weeks).
Must exhaust EUC Tier 3 benefits by 05/29/2010 in order to be eligible for Tier 4 (6 weeks).
Now saying that there is one exception to a number of states that got an additional funding to state unemployment coffers of 20 weeks only to those states whose unemployment rate was exceedingly high like 12% or more. This is known as state tier 2 benefits.
So all things going well, the can is now kicked down the road till after the election if you are one of those lucky enough to collect the full 79 or 99 weeks of unemployment before the dates not the weeks cut you off again.
Then what? If the Republicans win the House and/or Senate, they can answer to the folks that are going to have a long cold winter.
It makes no sense to not fund the program. Without it there will be more folks staving, more crime as I do not blame someone who will do what is needed to feed ones family. More house foreclosures etc etc…
Now if you want to buy the Republicans argument that these folks just do not want to work…
Just fund the Emergency Unemployment at a 70% level for a 5th tier to get folks through the winter and help more, longer. These folks are going to be your burden one way or another but it is just the right thing to do at this time !
In the time it takes them to figure something out, there needs to be a second stimulus in the form of rebuilding Americas Infrastructure (bridges,dams,water works). It is needed for the country and will create the needed jobs and return a tax revenue throughout the economy, hence having the effect of paying for itself.
The American economy is at a teetering point. A little stimulus now or we will go into deficit spending of no return later. I can only hope the voters do not forget what caused this mess as it still has not been fixed regardless of the latest financial reform act. It was the “repeal of the Glass-Steagle act in 1999″ . Yes, the same legislation that was created from the last time the banks went wild with your money that led to the great depression and it only took the banks 9 years to screw it up again !. Apparently our politicians must come from schools where HISTORY is not taught !
You might think this is a China or Japan Bashing post but think again. Where most of our jobs went is a internal problem and is the direct result of Merger and Acquisition that has been on steroids for the last 20 years. In short a regulatory and legislative failure. Oh… Congress has acted, but in a way that made this more and more possible with bigger and bigger companies.
To Big To Fail is a monster of deregulated proportions and the cause of job and tax loss for Americans and those tax losses must be made up by the taxpayers.
I will use my area as it is not so different than yours for prime example. My county’s population is around 140,000, down from 20% in this same 20 year span I will now describe. Please also understand this zip code was at least half previously small farms is now the main shopping area for 4 counties across 3 states now as the other areas have nothing that resembles full service anything with exception to a few large bank offices without local control.
20 years ago,
there were 9 full service grocery stores in my zip code. Each owned by an independent grocer and employing about 30 persons each, 20 full time and 10 part time (avg). Each store paying property taxes and each employee paying income tax (much less than today’s rate I might add).
there were 18 independent full service gas stations. Each employing an average of 4 persons.
there were 9 locally operated and controlled banks. 4 savings and loans and 2 credit unions. Each employing 8 – 16 people.
Now,
I have 1 independent full service grocer employing 10 full time and 8 part timers. 1 very large regional chain that has bought out all the existing independent grocery stores but has 2 locations and a Super Wal-Mart with a food store and I do not know how to calculate the employee’s as the meat is prepackaged somewhere else (to avoid union workers) and I never see more than 4 to 5 stocking shelves but I do understand they are open 24 hours and the sales clerks are shared with the dept store section of the same business.
I have 1 full service gas station (just opened and I hope he can make it) that employs 5 family members. 3 large company owned gas/convenient stores employing about 3 full time (management) and 12 part timers (kids).
I have 1 locally controlled independent bank. 0 Savings and loans and 1 credit union but 2 bank offices from one of the “to big to fail” 2 others that were not to big and failed. 2 regional banks with a office each but no local control of loans.
Now for every bank office and gas station or grocery store that is no longer there and those vacant store fronts are not adding anything to the property tax collection of my schools coffers so my rates go up and all the jobs lost from supporting services to made those businesses run and their employee/property tax loss…..
You can quickly see where this is going with only my 3 example industries but the real question is where does it end?
To Big To Fail My ASS, there is such a thing as “just to big” and size should support a local economy not rape it.
No merger or acquisition comes without job and tax loss just as if they went out of business because they did!
When hearing the term “Corporate Subsidies”, you might automatically think I would be speaking of the kind like the U.S. sugar industry gets to protect the price of sugar from cheap imports or the kind corn farmers may get for corn and methanol production. But if we were making methanol from sugar cane that is 3 times more efficient, this subside would not be needed and food prices would be lower, because candy, pop as everything food is sweetened with corn syrup (please see Energy Policy Act of 2005). No I am not going to talk about these kind.
I can’t think of an American taxpayer who does likes them except those receiving the subsidies! No I am talking about the ones your taxes are paying for and is not some unknown like the above mentioned subsidies for farmers or price supports.
If you want to believe in the free market unregulated system like they are always telling us, lets start with Cable TV.
What cable is subsidized? Not exactly and not by the Government. You are subsidizing channels by paying higher than needed prices to have channels you want or so the cable company says when it comes time to raise prices on customers. If nobody would pay for these straight-up, why have them? Just so you can say we have a gazillion channels? What good are they if nobody would pay to watch them?
We all know its a way to force profits. Cable Co’s hold the Discovery channel or Disney over are heads and tell us we will lose them if I don’t pay high prices for the half dozen channels we watch. Believe me when I say that the technology has been there to pay for only channels you want to watch. The Cable Co’s own much of the content now by the mergers and acquisitions of the movie makers in the last 15 years and are skewing the price triers to force you to buy content they own. Not to be outdone by the internet, they now have landmark court decision that now allows them to slow or stop media content delivery on the Internet. The Internet is their next competitor that they can not buy or merge with but do have control of more than 70% of high speed Internet distribution that makes movie content possible via the Internet. But don’t try to watch to many movies that way or you may find yourself with a surcharge or discontinued or slow service. So what is unlimited if there is a limit? See also Comcast / NBC Universal Studios Merger. This is paid for by your subside of channels you never watch to buy more content you will pay through the nose for.
You would not buy a car if they made you take a $1000 worth of cheap toasters and microwaves with it would you? I don’t know, maybe you need a toaster! Nor would you find it acceptable to be surcharged if you mange to make your car get better than average gas mileage.
Now let’s take cell phones. A bit more complicated, these plans are still no different. Start with the latest phone released, add a high price that many would not pay to have the phone, subsidize the price with a 2 year contract (so you can’t switch carriers when you find out you are not getting the voice or data service you are paying for, add a “early termination fee” (ETF) of $350 in the case you really need to get off the carrier to have any service coupled with the idea your phone is married to the carrier or will not physically work with anyone else so you will also need to buy a new phone to switch.
This forces you into the same subsidized cell phone with a new carrier after paying the ETF from the last carrier. I only hope the service is better!
It took over 2 years to get the promised “3G” service in my area and by then, they were promising “4G”, so what did we get? probably some other areas 3G equipment that converted to 4G. I can guess I should be able to advertise and sell a product that you are bound to and I do not have to deliver until enough folks pay for it in bad service and high fees. Is that not subsidizing the current undelivered technology? Gee, I want to sell you a car that runs on water ! Price $200,000 I will not deliver until I make one that runs on air! If you jump off my ever changing delivery schedule, it will cost you $350,000
It is no wonder 7 other nations have much better cell phone system in voice and data with good competition and lower cost while delivering more. What? you thought the U.S. was on top of the cell phone industry? you don’t know what you have been missing because nobody here is providing it.
I could site many more of these given the time and space but let it be food for thought the next time someone in congress starts taking regulation to these unregulated and out of control companies that may very well own all the content and delivery means by the time they speak of it. To Big To Fail? What would you do without AT&T, Verizon or Comcast, Time Warner in Your Area. You have little or no choice.